New basketball coach takes over at Stanford University

Stanford University hired a new men’s basketball coach to lead the team out of the Pac-12 conference and into the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Mercury News reported.

Kyle Smith will take over the Cardinal basketball team, which hasn’t played in the NCAA championship tournament in years. He’s returning to the Bay Area after leading the Washington State Cougars since 2019. 

Prior to moving to Washington, Smith was an assistant coach at Saint Mary’s in Moraga and a coach at the University of San Francisco. In San Francisco, Smith had three consecutive 20-win seasons.

“From my perspective, Stanford has the resources and reputation to attract the ideal student-athlete who is seeking the character development aspects of what our basketball program will offer,” Smith said in a Stanford news release. “Stanford has the capacity to provide a place where student-athletes can hone their leadership skills and intellect through hard work and team building.”